Mystery of the Assassination
Mystery of the Assassination is the eleventh episode of Mister T: The Animated Series. It is inspired by Walter Cronkite's coverage of JFK's assassination as well as CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite and guest stars CNN reporter Anderson Cooper. Premise While the team is at a banquet honoring the late Walter Cronkite, Vince d'Amato becomes witness to the murder of a Congressman who was supposed to give a speech honoring the late anchor. The team investigate with help from CNN reporter Anderson Cooper and uncover a conspiracy to murder the Congressman. What is going on? Plot In the intro, Mr.T hosts a seminar with CNN reporter Anderson Cooper about how witnessing a shocking event can affect a person. During this seminar, they mention JFK's assassination and how it affected a lot of people across America. Mr. T notes that this is one example. He also notes that something similar happened to Vince d'Amato when he witnessed the murder of a Congressman. This led to the team to solve the'' Mystery of the Assassination''. Mr. T and the team are attending a banquet that is being held in honor of the late Walter Cronkite. At the table they are sharing with CNN reporter Anderson Cooper, Vince d'Amato recites the St. Crispin's Day speech from Shakespeare's Henry V from memory successfully. Anderson Cooper praises Vince for being able to recite that piece of Shakespeare, noting he would make a good actor like his parents. Vince notes that he practiced that play before he could say any of the lines, recounting his experience with a ninja in New York in The Ninja Mystery. At that moment, when Vince turns to see a Congressman about to give a speech honoring Cronkite, he suddenly watches as the Congressman gets shot. The Congressman dies. Vince is traumatized by this. In the aftermath of the assassination, Jeff and Woody try to console Vince over what he saw. Mr. T notes that it sure is fishy that a Congressman could get murdered at a public event in Washington, DC. Robin points out that President Kennedy was himself murdered in front of a lot of people in Dallas, TX. The team decides to investigate. Anderson Cooper offers to help. Mr. T, Robin, and Kim visit the coroner to see his report on the dead body. The shot seems to have been at point-blank range indicating that whoever killed the Congressman must have been on the stage not too far from the Congressman. Anderson Cooper helps Jeff, Woody, and Vince examine the surveillance cameras. They get a glimpse of the assassin's face, and inform the police. The assassin is arrested with Anderson Cooper reporting on it on his show on CNN. The assassin admits that he was hired to kill the Congressman by Professor Richards, the man who the team caught during The Crossword Mystery. The team soon learns that Professor Richards has broken out of prison. Upon locating where Professor Richards is, the team with help from Anderson Cooper and the FBI storm the place and uncover a conspiracy. The assassination of the Congressman was just a rehearsal. Professor Richards attempts to escape as his conspirators are taken down. Mr. T and Vince capture Professor Richards who is then arrested. One week later, Mr. T congratulates Vince for receiving a medal for stopping a conspiracy to murder the President. It is also shown that Vince has gotten over his experience seeing a Congressman get assassinated. In the closing segment, Mr. T sums up what happened by explaining that while Vince was able to get over what he experienced in Washington, DC, there are some people that have never been able to do that. He speaks to the audience explaining that when they experience a shocking event, it is best to get over it and move on even though, it is hard. Cast and Characters Suspects Culprits Songs Locations *Washington, DC Trivia *This episode was one of a handful of episodes of Mister T: The Animated Series that generated controversy for its content. *This marks second appearance of Vince d'Amato in animation. His first was in an episode of Mister T called The Ninja Mystery. *This is the first appearance of Professor Richards since The Crossword Mystery. It is shown that Mr. T and the team hate Professor Richards for what he did to Ms. Bisby in that episode.